In the previous section, I touched on the value of seeing the finished image when looking through your camera's viewfinder. The visualizing process of seeing, or planning in advance, what can be done to an image in Photoshop CS2 is so important that I want to stress it by sharing a few more before-and-after examples. To illustrate my points, I'll use full-frame, unprocessed photographs (raw files) that I took during a once-in-a-lifetime Quark Expeditions (www.quarkexpeditions.com) adventure to Antarctica. My goal in this section isn't to show any so-called artistic techniquesthat is, applying special effects to an image. You'll see plenty of that later in this book. Rather, I'd like to show you how some basic Photoshop possibilitiesenhancements that I saw in my mind's eye when I was composing the imagestransformed already good pictures into more creative images. If you start out with a strong image, just imagine what you can do with it in Photoshop! How do you "see" the end result? Well, having lots of experience taking pictures and working and playing in Photoshop helps. Talking to yourself, or rather, asking yourself when you're photographing if this or that technique would look cool, is another method (but don't talk out loud if you're in a group, or someone may think you're losing it). Some of the following techniques, I admit, are simple. Often, however, when you keep it simple, that simplicity unlocks a new way of seeingand thinking. Compose the SceneLet's begin with an image from my Antarctica adventure (Figure 1.18). I took the picture of an iceberg knowing that lens flare, created by direct light falling on the front element of the lens, was dominating the upper left of the frame and ruining, in my mind, a full-frame image. However, my goal was not a full-frame shot. Rather, I envisioned a panoramic image of the dramatic iceberg with much less sky. I had to compose the scene in this manner from a bobbing Zodiac inflatable boat to get the very wide-angle effect I envisioned. Figure 1.18.Tech info: Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II, Canon 17-40mm lens @ 17mm. Exposure: 1/500 sec. @ f/11. ISO 100.
What's more, I saw a black-and-white image rather than a color image. Why? Because I like the look of black-and-white images of monochrome landscape scenes, and all the blue in this scene created a monotone image anyway. To create the black-and-white image, I went to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation and completely desaturated the image (Command-U: Mac or Ctrl-U: Win) (Figure 1.19). (Even better, use an Adjustment Layer. See the sidebar "Adjustment Layers Are a Must!" in Chapter 2.) Figure 1.19.
After I desaturated the image, it looked a little flat. I boosted the contrast by going to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast and moving the Contrast slider a little to the right (Figure 1.20). Figure 1.20.
Voilà! This is the image that appeared in my mind's eye when I first saw the magnificent natural ice sculpture (Figure 1.21). Figure 1.21.
Here's a closer look at the same iceberg. At first glance, it looks like an OK picture (Figure 1.22). But wait! Figure 1.22.Tech info: Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II, Canon 17-40mm lens @ 17mm. Exposure: 1/500 sec. @ f/5.6. ISO 100.
Lens flare was still a problem, as you can see by the area I've outlined in the image (Figure 1.23). Come on. Be honest. Did you see it in the previous image? (By the way, digital SLR cameras are more susceptible to lens flare than film cameras, due to the reflectivity of the shiny image sensor: Light can bounce off the image sensor onto the rear element of the lens, causing flare.) Figure 1.23.
Here, too, I envisioned a tighter shota tight, square image (Figure 1.24)and I think that this picture has more impact than the previous picture. I cropped the image using the Crop (press C: Mac or Win) tool, saved it, closed it, and then opened it again, for a reason you'll see shortly. Figure 1.24.
At this stage, the image looked a bit flat, so I went to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast to boost the contrast. Overall, the picture looks better (Figure 1.25). But the part of the ice that was strongly illuminated by the sun is now overexposedan expected result of my boosting the contrast. No problem. Figure 1.25.
I selected the History Brush from the Tool Bar (Figure 1.26) and "painted" back the detail in that area by going "back in time" to the unadjusted area of the picture. Keep in mind that had I cropped the picture after opening the image, I couldn't have used the History Brush, because it becomes inactive once a picture is cropped (unless you save a file, close it, and then reopen it). Figure 1.26.
As you can see in this image, the History Brush works wonders (Figure 1.27)! Figure 1.27.
Here I wanted to maintain a full-color image. However, I wasn't satisfied with the color. So, I went to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation and boosted the Saturation (Figure 1.28). Figure 1.28.
To increase the saturation even more and to make the image darker, I chose Image > Adjustments > Curves (Command-M: Mac or Ctrl-M: Win) and pulled down the Curves line from the center point (Figure 1.29). Figure 1.29.
Compare this image (Figure 1.30) to the first shot in this sequence. What do you think? Figure 1.30.
Here is another example of how you can use the History Brush to control contrast and brightness in a select area of an image (Figures 1.31 and 1.32). The picture that shows the overexposed breasts of the albatrosses was the result of increasing the contrast in a somewhat flat-looking image file. The properly exposed picture is the result of using the History Brush on the birds' breasts. That is the exposure I originally envisioned. Figure 1.31.Tech info: Canon EOS 1D Mark II, Canon 100-400mm lens @ 200 mm. Exposure: 1/250 sec. @ f/8. ISO 400.
Figure 1.32.Tech info: Canon EOS 1D Mark II, Canon 100-400mm lens @ 200 mm. Exposure: 1/250 sec. @ f/8. ISO 400.
I took the picture of sea ice with a full-frame 15mm fisheye lens; when tilted up or down, this lens bends the horizon line (Figure 1.33). I wanted that exact effect when I saw this scene. (Standing in the near-freezing water was the hardest part of taking this picture.) Figure 1.33.Tech info: Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II, Canon 15mm lens. Exposure: 1/250 sec. @ f/8. ISO 100.
I thought the scene would have more impact as a black-and-white image, so I experimented with different methods for getting that result. In this case, I went to Image > Mode > Grayscale. (See Chapter 4 for detailed information on creating black-and-white images.) Once again, here is the image I envisioned when I first saw this breathtaking scene (Figure 1.34). Figure 1.34.
It's a good idea to try to see pictures within a picture. In this set of images, you can see two additional pictures I envisioned within the original, wide-angle photograph (Figures 1.35, 1.36, and 1.37). Figure 1.35.Tech info: Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II, Canon 17-40mm lens @ 17mm. Exposure: 1/500 sec. @ f/11. ISO 100.
Figure 1.36.Tech info: Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II, Canon 17-40mm lens @ 17mm. Exposure: 1/500 sec. @ f/11. ISO 100.
Figure 1.37.Tech info: Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II, Canon 17-40mm lens @ 17mm. Exposure: 1/500 sec. @ f/11. ISO 100.
See the Color of LightIn addition to training your eyes to see the light (the highlights and contrast in a scene), you need to learn how to see the color of light. Warm light has deeper shades of red, yellow, and orange than cool light, which has a blue cast. The picture of a leopard seal was taken on an overcast day when the light was flat and gray (Figure 1.38). Figure 1.38.Tech info: Canon EOS 1D Mark II, Canon 100-400mm lens @ 200 mm. Exposure: 1/250 sec. @ f/8. ISO 400.
To warm up the picture, I chose Image > Adjustments > Photo Filter and applied Warming Filter (LBA) (Figure 1.39), adjusting the Density slider to suit my personal taste. As you can see, I cropped the picture a little for a square image (Figure 1.40). Figure 1.39.
Figure 1.40.
Tip For a perfect square, hold down the Shift key when using the Crop tool. To achieve the opposite effectcooling off the imageI applied the Cooling Filter (80) (Figure 1.41), again adjusting the Density slider to taste (Figure 1.42). Figure 1.41.
Figure 1.42.
Have Fun with Frames and TypeEnvisioning the post-photography fun as well as the creative options that you can have in Photoshop is important. Part of that enjoyment can involve adding digital frames to a picture, and Photoshop offers some cool built-in digital frames. When you compose a picture in-camera, it is usually a good idea to shoot tight and fill the frame with the main subject. However, if you plan to add certain types of frames to the image, you may want to leave some space around the edges. Tip Frames are included with Photoshop's built-in Actions. To load them, click the little fly-out arrow at the top right of the Actions dialog box. Then, click Frames in the pop-up menu. On the next page are examples of the Drop Shadow (Figure 1.43) and Photo Corners frames (Figure 1.44). Figure 1.43.
Figure 1.44.
And speaking of fun, when I'm in the field shooting, I often think about sharing my pictures with family, friends, and business associates. I compose a picture and add type to create an e-card (which is a low-resolution JPEG image with type embedded). Here's an e-card that I created on site, using onOne Software's PhotoFrame 2.5 (Figure 1.45); I send it to busy folks who don't return my phone calls. Figure 1.45.
It pays to think before you shoot. Get practicing. See and picture your world in your own unique way.
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